Free Reading

If any of you are like me, you like to read books. I found out about this site where you can read books by email or RSS. I am so excited to get started here & thought you might like it as well. :)

Daily Lit

Kitchen Adventure

I was in the kitchen on Tuesday (I think that was the day) and I made an absolutely wonderful base for a salad, salsa, or dip. Use it for whatever. I am not big on measuring when I create my own recipes and I don't know how much of each item I used but here is what I did.

Finely dice 1 whole avocado, add the juice of 1/2 a lime. Dice 1 roma tomato and add to the avocado & lime. Remove the seeds and dice 1 medium orange pepper and 3 green onions (depending on how much you like green onions and how much of it you use. I would say that if you use a lot of the green at the top only use 2) and add to the mixture. I only had dried cilantro which is also known as coriander but I added some, well actually a lot more than some people think is normal (I love cilantro) If you have fresh cilantro chop some up and add as much as you like. Also add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

This "recipe" doesn't make tons, but it is Oh so good!! I had some just plain on chips. I also added black beans to make it go a little further, but be sure to add some more salt if you do that, it kind of took the fresh flavor away though. :( The next time I made it I put shredded chicken and ranch dressing with it. . .OOOOOHHHHHHH. Chicken salad. (Can you say pseudo Cafe Rio/Bajio/Costa Vida dressing?)

Okay, I know that this is a random post, and it is my first entry on hip homemaker, but enjoy the "recipe." Besides my new roomie loves it. :D

Popsicles and Cupcakes

I just saw these fun pans featured at Ohdeedoh, and all I have to say is, who wouldn't want to make cookie Popsicles and cupcake ice cream cones? I am thinking this is a must have for the summer.

FREE pictures plus an 8x8 photo book!

For a limited time, Artscow.com is offering new registrants 200 free 4x6 prints, 200 free 5x7 prints, and 1 free 8x8 photo book! But once they reach their targeted number of new customers, the freebies disappear, so you need to register now! And as an added bonus, anyone that becomes a member and purchases something before May 14 will get a free 8.5x11 photo calendar that you customize with your own pictures. What a great gift idea for 2009!

Click here for more information and to register for your FREE prints and picture book!

Twilight in HD :)

To anyone who loves Twilight as much as I do... here's the teaser, teaser trailer :) The actual teaser comes out in 2 days here: Twilightthemovie.com. Hope ya love it ;)

DIY: Embossed Wall

DIY: The Embossed Wall

Wall embossing is a technique a friend taught me. What to emboss your own wall? Well, today is your lucky day!

You will need: Stencils, craft knife, pencil, putty knife, painters tape, paint rollers, paint brushes, paint, and dry time spackle.

Pick a Pattern. First off, you need to decide what you are going to emboss on your walls. We picked maple leaves. But be creative, you can use a fleur-de-lis, a daisy, or a bird. Doing a child's room? How about cars, trucks, stars, or fairies?

Get a Stencil. After you have chosen a pattern you need to find a stencil. If you can't find exactly what you are looking for, it is easy to create your own. Simply trace your pattern onto a blank stencil sheet and cut it out with a craft knife. We cut out four maple leaves in various sizes.

Prepare the walls. We will be spackling and painting so give the walls a quick wash and remove any wall plates that might get hit with the roller. Don't tape off yet! If you put the tape on too early, it is harder to remove when you are done.

Outline. Take a pencil and lightly mark where you are going to be stenciling. We wanted the leaves to be placed on our wall in a tree branch pattern and drew lines accordingly. If you want your pattern to be placed on the wall at specific intervals, make sure to mark it off. Depending on how precise you want your pattern to be, you may want to use a ruler and a level.

Spackle Your Design. Grab your putty knife, it's time to spackle! We suggest using dry time indicator spackling. It goes on pink and dries white. The pink color makes it easier to see the design as you're putting it on.

Firmly hold the stencil in place, using your putty knife spread the spackle across the stencil. It works best to spread from the outside of the stencil in. If you want a more worn or rustic look, you can try filling in only part of the stencil. Have fun with this part! If you don't like it, scrape it off and try again.

Let it Dry. While your spackling dries, use painters tape to tape off any door jams, baseboards, ceilings or walls you don't want to get paint on.

Sand. Once the spackle designs are completely dry you will want to sand them. At this point the spackle is still fragile, so use a fine grit sand paper. Sand just enough to get rid of any sharp edges. You will want to leave some of the texture, as it adds to the look.

Paint. Now it is time to paint your walls. Make sure to use a primer if needed. If you find that your spackling is coming off during the painting process, spray it with a little varnish first. Remember to remove the painters tape while the paint is slightly tacky. Don't wait too long or you'll be needing that craft knife to remove it.

Details. Once the paint is dry, feel free to highlight your embossing with little bit of color. You can do this by rubbing a small amount of paint onto the embossed area, then wiping it off with a dry rag. However, don't go overboard, the embossing should be subtle.

Product Review: OxiClean Baby

Ladies, if you're anything like me, you may have found yourself in a laundry nightmare after your first little one arrived. Not only did I find myself doing load after load of laundry, but I wasn't drying some of it because I didn't want any stains to set in. Let me tell you, it became quite the juggling act.

A great friend of mine lent me some of her son's preemie baby clothes to wear while my son spent several weeks growing into the 0-3 months we already had on hand. There is no worse feeling than pulling borrowed clothes out of the washing machine and finding they're still dirty, even after subsequent washes. I was at my wit's end - not only could my son not wear these dirty clothes, but I'd have to return them stained! Well, there was no way I was going to do that. If I couldn't find a way to get them clean, I'd have to replace them.

I did a google search for how to remove baby poop stains from clothing (my son is exclusively breastfed, so spitup came right out). I happened to come across an online discussion where women were praising a product I hadn't yet heard of, OxiClean Baby.

Sure, sure, I'd used regular OxiClean before, but always found it a hassle to make up a solution for pretreating stains. The OxiClean Baby line includes the tub of powder, but you can also get this Baby Stain Remover in a premixed spray bottle! It sounded good and looked easy to use, so I decided to try it out.
I've used it consistently for about a month now, and I'm totally hooked! Not only did it get the stains out of the clothes my son soiled, but it brightened several used outfits my sister gave me, even removing some older, set-in formula spitup stains. I was touting its amazingness to a friend of mine, and her neighbor that overheard me said it works great on her toddler's clothes, too! It's removed grass, jelly, blood, and lots of chocolate stains over the last six months. This is definitely a product every Hip Homemaker needs in her (or his) laundry room!

The best part about OxiClean Baby is that it's 100% fragrance, chlorine, detergent, and dye free, without sacrificing its stain-fighting effectiveness. You can get your baby's clothes squeaky clean without worrying about what's touching their skin! If you'd like to try out OxiClean Baby powder and spray, this is the best combo price for both. And be sure to look here for current coupon codes before you check out and save even more! Happy laundering!

Storage Solutions

Ohdeedoh, a design blog focused around children, just posted the winners to their "Now You See it, Now You Don't" storage solutions contest.

They had a lot of great ideas from some very creative moms. My personal favorite was the bucket brigade (a memo board with buckets attached).

You can check out the other winners here.

Mark Your Calendars

I don't know about you, but I could never say no to an ice cream cone, let alone one with a 31-cent price tag!

On April 30th, stop by your local Baskin Robbins ice cream store inbetween the hours of 5:00 to 10:00 pm to participate in the annual 31 Cent Scoop Night, benefiting The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. There is also opportunity to donate a little more if you so wish.

And while you're there, why not pre-order a darling mothers day cake. (Let's be honest, mothers, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe your husband and kids can get some credit for having to pick it up.)

By the way, if you happen to work for Baskin Robbins, be sure to stock up on Gold Medal Ribbon, because my family is headed your way!

Photo via: Baskinrobbins.com

Hulu.com

In the past week, I have seen at least ten personal blogs talk about their new obsession with Hulu.com.

On Hulu.com, you can view full-length television episodes and movies for FREE! Missed the season premiere of The Office or Scrubs? No worries, you can view them on Hulu.com! Want to see old episodes of your favorites such as Bewitched? Again, free on Hulu.com!

Free stuff is always good, Right?

(As if I honestly need another excuse to watch TV!)

Bowling Birthday Cake

My sister made this cake for a friends birthday party. I loved it so much I wanted to share. My favorite part is how she used tea lights for the holes in the bowling ball. She did say to keep in mind that once you cut the cake to shape it, the newly cut edges are hard to frost.

I want to talk someone into a bowling birthday so I can take crack at this cake.

Postcard Heaven

Hey everyone, I'm at it again. I'm going to ask whoever can do this for me, please please please send me a post card (or however many you want) to me :). Last time I did this, I got quite a few, and some are still coming, but this is just a reminder to those who don't know about it yet... Please send me as many as you want, or can. And spread the word. Even if you don't know me, or want to tell your friends to send some random person a post card, please do it. I think it is so great to see pictures of the different places people live in the world!

So, send them to this address, and pass this news along too:

Lauren Whitney
760 E 300 S Apt 3
Payson, UT 84651

Also, check out some of the post cards I've already gotten here: Post Cards for Lauren

There's also a postcard trading site called Postcrossing.com

Thanks in advance, can't wait to see these great postcards!
~L

Pimp my stroller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NnzF772EkI

Check this out... Pimp my stroller... It is Funny... Granted it is 5 mins long but it is worth it...

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles!

So, I've fallen in love with the command Picture Hanging Strips. My mother-in-law bought me some for a painting she wanted me to hang, and I thought, "They'll never hold!" Once she left, I put them aside, and forgot about them, until the day I decided to hang the picture, and couldn't find my nails... So, I grabbed the hanging strips, followed the instructions, and placed one strip on all 4 sides of the medium sized painting, and stuck it to the wall. I stared at the picture for a good 10 minute making sure it wasn't slipping. Almost a year later, the painting is still stuck and steady on my hallway wall :) And, if I decided to take it down, all I have to do is pull the tab and it'll come clean off my wall without scraping, refilling a hole, pulling the paint off or anything! I *heart* the Command Picture Hanging Strips :)

Tracking Cycles

I don't know how many of you track your cycles and for what reason, but I was hoping I could do so via the Internet and stumbled across My Monthly Cycles during that search. I'm still fairly new to the site, but there is a lot of interesting information and tools on there. So if you're like me, you may find it useful.